Willingness Over Readiness
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Every year, I run a trip to Israel for adult men. It’s the highlight of my year—the most fun I have. It’s like a fraternity, but with men from all backgrounds, from all over the world, coming together in Israel. The trip is called Momentum.
Guys arrive, some stepping on Israeli soil for the very first time, and the transformation is immediate. One man, completely disconnected from Judaism, steps off the plane and looks around. He says, “Why does it feel like I’m home?”
Because he is home.
The week is filled with adventure, spirituality, and connection. The culmination is Friday night Shabbat services at the Kotel. The place is packed, yet there’s a moment where we have our own circle, singing and dancing. And then, as if on cue, a group arrives with Israeli soldiers. The energy is electric. Men from all walks of life, including our guests, are dancing alongside soldiers.
One year, a guest notices the soldiers look different. They’re commandos, he says, not dressed in uniform. “I don’t know if this feels right,” he whispers.
I laugh, trying to reassure him, but he insists on meeting one of them, a man at the back, a mentor, a career legend in the army. We step aside, and he begins to share his story.
He was a scared child. He tried to avoid the army. He didn’t feel ready. But one day, after his father, a member of one of the early paramilitary groups in Israel, survived a dangerous mission, he called his son over and said:
“It’s time for you to be a man.”
The boy protested. “I’m not ready. I’m just a kid.”
His father looked at him and said something that changed everything:
“You don’t have to be ready. You just have to be willing.”
He explained how none of the great leaders were ever truly “ready”:
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Abraham wasn’t ready when God asked him to leave everything and lead the world.
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Jacob wasn’t ready when he fled his brother’s home.
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Joseph wasn’t ready when he faced the rulers of Egypt.
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David wasn’t ready when he became king.
No one is ever ready. But willingness is what matters.
He turned to me and said, “Feeling ready doesn’t matter. Willingness is what counts. You just have to have the guts to get up, even if you might fail a million times.”
And that is the lesson of life. When walls appear in front of us—whatever they are—it’s not about waiting until we feel ready. It’s about saying, “I’m willing.” Responsibility leads to ability. Courage emerges from action. And by being willing, we unlock possibilities we never imagined.
I would rather try, fail, and fail again than reach the end of my life wondering, “What could I have become if only I had tried?”
The measure of a Jew, of a human being, isn’t readiness. It’s willingness—the courage to say yes, even when everything inside tells you no